Casa Mila in Barcelona, Spain

Casa Milà, better
known as La Pedrera, is a
modernist building located at 92, Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain , at the corner of Carrer de
Provença, in the Eixample. It was the last civil work designed by catalan
architect Antoni Gaudi and it was built between the years 1906 and 1910. In
1912, Gaudí and the Milà i Segimon marriage signed the contract of completion
of the work of the Casa Milà.

It was commissioned by businessman Pere Milà i Camps and his
wife Roser Segimon i Artells , from Reus and widow of the wealthy Indian Josep
Guardiola i Grau. At the time it was very controversial because of the bold
undulating stone facade and twisted wrought iron that decorate the balconies
and windows, designed mostly by Josep Maria Jujol, who also designed some of
the skies of plaster.

Architecturally it is considered an innovative work by
having a structure of columns and floors free of load bearing walls. Similarly,
the front – which is made of stone – is also self-supporting, ie, not loads of
floors. Another innovative element was the construction of the underground
garage.

The year 1984 was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO .
It is currently the headquarters of the Fundació-Catalunya La Pedrera , which
manages the various exhibitions and activities done there and the public
visits.